The Mayor of Moonstone was nothing like the Mayor of Uln. For one thing he was human. For another there was the matter of personal style. The Mayor of Uln had been dressed in fine clothes that fitted him well and suited his personal style. The Mayor of Moonstone was wearing expensive, showy clothes that made him look more like the ringmaster of a struggling circus than the leader of the greatest city of the continent.

He was balding, and judging by the number of hats on the hat-stand by the door, he was self conscious about it. He had one of those broad faces that can look chubby if you’re not paying attention but the rest of him was quite svelte under his slightly oversized jacket.

His office was large and filled with expensive old furniture polished to a high sheen by generations of cleaning staff. The walls were lined with bookshelves. The books were all the same size, with similar bindings and titles. I realised that they were all records of Moonstone’s laws and the personal notes of past Mayors.

I’m fairly sure that I would never have been allowed inside for a meeting with the Mayor under normal circumstances but he needed a Scavenger. I was able to just walk up to his outer office and speak to his secretary and the next thing I knew I was getting an audience with the Mayor.

Jethro was waiting for me outside, spitting mad that he couldn’t be in the room.

“Let us not be coy,” said the Mayor, and for a moment I wondered what the hell fish had to do with anything. “I know that Gertrude is hosting you in the Archive, and I know that means that you’re an Outlander. There’s no reason to hide anything from me.”

“If we’re not being coy,” I said, “we can get straight to the matter of why this job has been on the Salvager board for years but no-one seems to know what it is.”

The Mayor suddenly looked a lot less smug but he recovered quickly. “Ah the refreshing directness that I’ve come to expect from Outlanders. It’s not that no-one knows, it’s that no-one will talk about it. This job is very profitable, very secret and potentially very dangerous.”

“So some of the people who know can’t talk about it on account of being dead?” I said.

The Mayor shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Most of them are still alive, you just can’t afford to talk to them,” he paused, as if rethinking his approach. “No. That’s unfair. They won’t talk because I have bound them to secrecy. If you take this job you will also be bound to secrecy. Frankly, you’ll have to agree to be bound just to hear the full details.”

“It’s going to be awkward not telling my friend Jethro what I’m doing while we share accommodations,” I said.

“If you want to take Jethro into your confidence and he is willing to swear to secrecy then so be it. You may even take him with you if you think he has the skills to be useful. But you should hear what the job is before you decide if you want him to know about it.”

I was cooling to the idea of doing this job, whatever it was, but at the same time my curiosity about it was only growing.

“Fine,” I said. “What do I have to swear?”

“Swear that you will not reveal any detail of the job that I am about to discuss to anyone who has not also sworn this oath of secrecy.” The Mayor held out his hand as if to shake.

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“I swear,” I said, and took his hand.

“I now bind you to your word.”

I heard the same flat chime as I’d heard back in the woods and again the warning message appeared in my peripheral vision COMPACT SEALED.

“What’s the job?” I said, already more impatient than I’d been expecting.

“As the Mayor I have access to detailed maps of every district of Moonstone going back many generations. As you must have noticed there’s not a lot of unoccupied space here. The city is mainly built upon itself. The ancient city is beneath our feet. A honeycomb of habitations studded with treasure.”

“Treasure… right,” I said. I was aware that archaeologists value the detritus of the past but I couldn’t imagine what treasures the Mayor could possibly be talking about.

“Treasure in the sense that there are wealthy people willing to pay for it,” said the Mayor.

That made more sense, I could imagine all sorts of things that might once have been common and now were rare. It worried me though. Could I be signing up to drag ancient tomes of dark magic out of the depths of the old city for a dangerous elite?

Of course there’s always the option to drag ancient tomes of dark magic out of the depths of the old city so I can keep them for myself.

“Let’s say that I’m interested. What’s to stop me from keeping what I find for myself?”

“Nothing,” said the Mayor. “In fact I encourage you to keep any gear you find that will aid you. But most of it won’t be of any value to you unless you sell it and now you’re bound to secrecy you can’t ask anyone who to sell it to.”

“That kind of thinking is why you’re the Mayor and I’m not,” I said.

He smiled, I think he was trying to look self deprecating but it came across more as genuine pride. “Don’t sell yourself short,” he said. “You arrived… What? Yesterday? Give yourself time.”

There was a knock at the office door.

“And speaking of time,” said the Mayor. “I’m afraid that I have other things to attend to. I don’t want to press you for an answer but…”

“I want to discuss it with Jethro. Is the compact making thing to swear him to secrecy something that anyone can do?” I said.

“It is, but I really do advise that you do a little reading on the subject before you try it for yourself. The Central Library would be a good start. I recommend Compacts, Vows and Oaths for the Common Man, it’s a sound basic text."

#

I headed straight for the Central Library with Jethro in tow. When he asked how the meeting had gone I just said, “Can’t talk now. I need to do some research.”

The Central Library was reassuringly huge and airy. The main floor was double height with windows in the upper half of the walls throwing light down onto the rows upon rows of books.

I’d almost forgotten that the most dapper man in Moonstone worked there until I saw Amris standing behind the main desk. He smiled, as much as a cat can smile, as I approached. “I told Gertrude you looked like a reader,” he said. “How can I help you?”

“I’m looking for something on Compacts,” I said. “I was recommended a book called Compacts, Vows and Oaths for the Common Man, but I’d prefer to read from more than one source, if possible.”

“Very wise,” said Amris. “I might know who sent you here and you should read as widely as possible if you’re going to have anything to do with him.”

“So everybody knows about this but me then?” said Jethro.

“Actually nobody knows about it,” said Amris. “That’s the problem. In the absence of knowledge there is only gossip.”

“Gossip, you say?” said Jethro, leaning over the desk.

“Before you two get too engrossed,” I said. “Do you have any books on the history of Moonstone? Something for someone who knows basically nothing about the place.”